Bio
Dr. Hu is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic spine surgeon. She is professor and vice chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and (by courtesy) Neurosurgery, and chief of the Division of Spine Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Hu completed her orthopedic surgery residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and her fellowship training in spine and scoliosis surgery at Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California.
Dr. Hu has extensive experience helping patients with a range of spinal conditions and injuries. She specializes in treating scoliosis (when the spine curves sideways), kyphosis (when the spine is more bent forward than normal) lumbar spine fractures, spondylolisthesis (when a vertebra moves out of place), disc degeneration, and spinal stenosis (spinal canal narrowing). Dr. Hu draws on her expertise to create a customized care plan for each of her patients.
Dr. Hu has been the principal investigator in more than a dozen clinical trials and studies. She has been awarded multiple research grants from the North American Spine Society, Scoliosis Research Society, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her research interests include the effects of preoperative pain medication on surgical outcomes as well as decreasing the risk of complications after spine surgery. She has also studied and tested new technologies that make spine surgery safer and more effective.
She has published more than 145 articles in dozens of peer-reviewed journals, including Global Spine Journal, Journal of Spine Surgery, Spine, and Spine Deformity. She has written about a range of topics, including quality measures in spine surgery, spinal fusion techniques, spine tumor effects on spine stability and lumbar decompression for spinal stenosis. Additionally, Dr. Hu has written more than a dozen book chapters on spinal cord injuries, spine fractures, pediatric kyphosis, spondylolysis (vertebra fracture), and scoliosis.
Dr. Hu has reviewed articles for Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: A Comprehensive Review, and Spine. She has also served as associate editor for Spine Deformity and deputy editor for Global Spine Journal.
Having delivered hundreds of presentations, papers, and lectures, Dr. Hu is widely considered one of the world’s leading experts in spine surgery. She has been invited to lecture to her colleagues all over the United States and around the world, including in Hong Kong, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Argentina, and Greece.
Dr. Hu is a member of multiple professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Association, International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, Orthopaedic Research Society, and Scoliosis Research Society. She is past president of the Scoliosis Research Society as well as of the American Orthopedic Association.
